Review of The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions by Evelyn S. Rawski

The Last Emperors, by Evelyn S. Rawski, is an examination of the Chinese Qing, or Manchu, dynasty. Rather than examining the structure of this dynasty based upon political matters, Rawski instead looks at social history in order to develop a better understanding of the politics of the Qing dynasty. In particular, she "explores issues of ethnicity and historical interpretation within Qing history from the perspective of the Manchu rulers." (p. 2) As a former student of American immigration history, matters of ethnicity are frequently a part of my research, and thus this book was very interesting to me.

The book is divided into three sections, dealing respectively with material culture, the social organization of the Qing court, and rituals of the Qing court. These approaches all reflect the recent publication of this book, as they are all methods of studying social history that have been prevalent for only the past few decades, at most. While primarily confined to the study of social and cultural history, these techniques have found a small place in mainstream history as well.

Rawski notes that the material culture of the Qing dynasty reflected its multi-ethnic origins. Being a culture which derived aspects from both the Manchu culture and the existing Chinese culture, the rulers believed it was important to incorporate cultural aspects of all of the cultures which had a place in their dynasty: "The Qing rulers did not present themselves simply as Chinese or Manchu monarchs. Governing diverse peoples, they 'took on' different cultural guises and portrayed themselves within different cultural frames. Only thus could they act as the integrating center of the empire." (p. 55) The wisdom that the Qing rulers expressed in their cultural decisions reflected the wisdom and skill with which they ruled.

The social organization of the Qing court initially operated on a multi-ethnic basis as well. Eventually, however, the conquerors came to make a distinction between the conquerors and the conquered peoples. Genealogy and lineage became excessively important, particularly for those who served in the armies. Roles were carefully prescribed for the behavior of the rulers, the imperial women, and the palace servants, phasing out the multi-ethnic nature of the court structure.

The final section, dealing with the rituals of the Qing dynasty, returns to the theme begun in the first section, dealing with the continuity of cultural traditions, or at least the perceived continuity of such. Eric Hobsbawm and Terrence Ranger, editors of The Invention of Tradition, have amply illustrated the ways in which new traditions can be created by the ruling classes, and then complemented with a history that make the traditions seem to be older than time itself. Rawski shows how the Qing rulers operated under this principle to make their new traditions seem to have been a part of Chinese history for many centuries, if not beyond.

Rawski's book is very interesting, particularly to a student who has interest in both social history and the history of ethnicity. It is carefully researched and written, drawing on a wide array of excellent source material. Through this study, a more complete picture of the Qing dynasty can be viewed than would be possibly through only studying the politics of the Qing.